Confide in Me
Confide in Me is the lead single from Kylie Minogue's 1994 self-titled album. It was written by Steve Anderson, Dave Seaman and Owain Barton & produced by Brothers in Rhythm. The single was released on August 29, 1994 (a month before the album's release). The song was acclaimed by many music critics where some critics labelled it as one of Kylie's best singles to date and praised it for its commercial release. Song Background In 1993, Kylie had signed a record deal with British record label Deconstruction Records after finishing her deal with PWL. With her signing to the label, they gave her more creative control despite having only written one song on the following album "Kylie Minogue." According to Kylie by Sean Smith, Kylie had recorded "Confide In Me" at her Chelsea, London home in 1994. The recording was a demo tape that producers Brothers in Rhythm had developed in just under an hour. Surprisingly, Steve Anderson asserted that the demo would be the final version. Anderson said, "Obviously, there were embellishments to it and we spent a lot of time on the whole production, but it was still the original one that we were using." "Confide In Me" is known for its multi-genre style. The song is built inside pop music, but generates different elements of music. Nick Levine from Digital Spy described the song as a "sumptuous, string-swathed dance-pop epic" with acknowledgement of Middle Eastern pop music. According to William Baker (one of Kylie's close friends) said that he could hear influences of house music. PopMatters had compared the song to previous work by Icelandic singer and songwriter Björk. The message in the lyrics is that it is she who manipulates the situation by saying, "I can keep a secret/and throw away the key". The song's lyrics also represents the respect as the "power remains hers". It later explains that, in the bridge part where she sings "Stick or twist/The choice is yours", Kylie teases her lover that they hold the key to power. According to William Baker, he says that the song "symbolizes internal power struggle that rages beneath her Kylie's surface" as he continues "she is both puppet and puppet master". Chart Performance In Kylie's native Australia, the song debuted at number thirty-one on the ARIA singles chart. The following week, the song dramatically rose to number one and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. "Confide In Me" spent 20 weeks in the ARIA top 50 chart & 25 weeks in the top 100. "Confide In Me" was Kylie's first Australian number one single since 1988's "Got to Be Certain" and was the only single from her Deconstruction era to peak inside the top ten. In New Zealand, the single debuted and peaked at #12, remaining on the chart for nine weeks in total. "Confide In Me" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks in the top 10, and 14 weeks in the top 100. It sold 183,000 copies in the UK and was certified silver for shipments exceeding 200,000 copies. In Sweden, the single debuted at #40 and rose to #37, but it fell the next week. The song re-entered at #30 where it eventually peaked. It stayed in the charts for five weeks. In the Netherlands, the single debuted at number forty-five, and eventually peaked at number thirty-eight, staying in the charts for four weeks. It also spent one week on the French Singles Chart at #45, but then re-entered at number nineteen, eventually peaking at #10 and spending eighteen weeks on the chart. "Confide in Me" debuted at #30 on the Swiss Music Charts and rose to #20, spending eight weeks on the chart. Although the single failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Confide in Me" had modest success on the US Hot Dance Club Songs, peaking at #39. Critical Reception "Confide In Me" featured a colourful music video that was directed by Paul Boyd and filmed in Los Angeles, California in July of 1994. The video features Kylie talking on the phone, urging people to call and confide in her. There are six sequences; all of which feature Kylie in front of different backgrounds exploring and playing on a variety of social evil (such as sex, obesity, drug use and war as well as murder & inequality) whilst she playfully dances for the camera. The number "1-555-Confide" is featured at the bottom of the screen during select sequences. As the video concludes, all of the scenes are intercut and gradually fade. Kylie wears six costumes during the course of the video, with each one being accompanied by different hairstyles and makeup. The video is seen as a turning point in her inlustrious videography which marks a credible move away from her bubblegum roots demonstatred in her earlier PWL videos. Introduced by Davina McCall, the music video received its world premiere on MTV on 6 August 6, 1994 (prior to the single's commercial release). The video was a hit, charting at number one on Dial MTV and at number sixteen on MTV Europe's top twenty countdown. It was released commercially on the "Ultimate Kylie" companion DVD. Accolades At the ARIA Music Awards, "Confide In Me" won three awards at the ceremony where it won Best Selling Australian Single", "Best Selling Australian Dance Single" and eventually "Best Video." It also placed seventh for "Best Single" and third for "Best Video" at the 1994 Smash Hits Awards. Category:Songs Category:Singles